Making space for a new picture of the world: Boys in Zinc and Chernobyl Prayer by Svetlana Alexievich

Based on a study of Boys in Zinc and Chernobyl Prayer, two books by the Nobel Laureate Svetlana Alexievich, this paper’s core argument is that Alexievich’s writing represents an approach designed to capture that which eludes more conventional journalism. The paper seeks first to situate the subjects of Alexievich’s work in the wider media historical context of the end of the USSR, and also to argue that her writing is part of a uniquely Russian concept of journalism as literature--a concept that has its historical roots in the autocratic Russia of the 19th century. The paper further proposes that conflicts between the preternatural and the material, and between elite and non-elite voices--key themes of the works studied – are vital to understanding the age of change which Alexievich, through her use of extensive interviews, was seeking to record. It emphasizes the significance of the Soviet experience in World War II as an influence on the USSR for the remainder of its existence. It posits that Alexievich’s work also casts valuable light on the nature of journalism in the last years of the Soviet era – and concludes, while acknowledging certain criticisms and questioning of her presentation of her material, by arguing that it represents a way to understand new and bewildering times

The Personal is Political: Performing Saint Joan in the Twenty-First Century

Contemporary theater makers aiming to present feminist-inflected interpretation of Shaw\u27s Saint Joan could benefit from the practice of intertextuality: examining feminist playwrights\u27 versions of Joan\u27s story. Two plays by contemporary writers, Carolyn Gage\u27s The Second Coming of Joan of Arc and Martha Kemper\u27s Me, Miss Krause and Joan can illuminate the most pressing contemporary issues, highlighting the ways that Shaw\u27s version overlaps with current feminist concerns, including intersectionality, positionality, and sexual assault. Such a process would empower performers and audience members alike, and would help playwrights, directors, and dramaturgs avoid some of the pitfalls exhibited in the recent rock musical Joan of Arc: Into the Fire. Also, since audiences in the United States and Canada are increasingly female-dominated and plays by women often make more money, such strategies not only could engender more culturally sensitive productions but also possibly even result in a higher box office return

Note from the editors

Introduction to the volume and the project behind it and short summary of chapters. This publication, resulting from a collaboration between Euromed Feminist Initiative and the University of Padova, builds on the knowledge of academics and advocates, shedding new insights on those challenges. It aims at supporting institutional efforts being made to guarantee women\u2019s participation in the Syrian reconstruction, as well as advocacy initiatives carried out to ensure women\u2019s participation in political and economic decision-making in the country\u2019s future

Hip Hop Culture in a Small Moroccan City

This paper explores Hip Hop culture by tracing its development from the global level through the Arab world to finally its manifestation in Morocco. Hip Hop culture is defined broadly as a wide range of artistic expressions-rap, graffiti, breakdancing, DJing, etc.-and also a mind-set or way of life. The focus on the Moroccan context starts at the national level, pointing out some of the key artists, issues Moroccan Hip Hop faces, and how this has been explored by scholars of Hip Hop. The paper focuses on an ethnographic exploration of Hip Hop culture in Ifrane, a small Moroccan city. An analytic approach suggested in Patti Lather\u27s 1991 book Getting Smart informs and expands the paper particularly by privileging the emancipatory power of Moroccan Hip Hop, creating a nuanced view of the impact of Hip Hop on the lives of youth in this small community. Finally, the paper employs a self-reflexive stance to critically view the author\u27s own position in the research project in order to name some of the challenges and contradictions of a white male American doing Hip Hop research in the Moroccan context

Hip Hop Culture in a Small Moroccan City

This paper explores Hip Hop culture by tracing its development from the global level through the Arab world to finally its manifestation in Morocco. Hip Hop culture is defined broadly as a wide range of artistic expressions-rap, graffiti, breakdancing, DJing, etc.-and also a mind-set or way of life. The focus on the Moroccan context starts at the national level, pointing out some of the key artists, issues Moroccan Hip Hop faces, and how this has been explored by scholars of Hip Hop. The paper focuses on an ethnographic exploration of Hip Hop culture in Ifrane, a small Moroccan city. An analytic approach suggested in Patti Lather\u27s 1991 book Getting Smart informs and expands the paper particularly by privileging the emancipatory power of Moroccan Hip Hop, creating a nuanced view of the impact of Hip Hop on the lives of youth in this small community. Finally, the paper employs a self-reflexive stance to critically view the author\u27s own position in the research project in order to name some of the challenges and contradictions of a white male American doing Hip Hop research in the Moroccan context

Hip Hop Culture in a Small Moroccan City

This paper explores Hip Hop culture by tracing its development from the global level through the Arab world to finally its manifestation in Morocco. Hip Hop culture is defined broadly as a wide range of artistic expressions-rap, graffiti, breakdancing, DJing, etc.-and also a mind-set or way of life. The focus on the Moroccan context starts at the national level, pointing out some of the key artists, issues Moroccan Hip Hop faces, and how this has been explored by scholars of Hip Hop. The paper focuses on an ethnographic exploration of Hip Hop culture in Ifrane, a small Moroccan city. An analytic approach suggested in Patti Lather\u27s 1991 book Getting Smart informs and expands the paper particularly by privileging the emancipatory power of Moroccan Hip Hop, creating a nuanced view of the impact of Hip Hop on the lives of youth in this small community. Finally, the paper employs a self-reflexive stance to critically view the author\u27s own position in the research project in order to name some of the challenges and contradictions of a white male American doing Hip Hop research in the Moroccan context

Misunderstanding is a rule, understanding is a miracle: Ivo Andric's 'Bosnian Chronicle'

The article links the fictional world of Ivo Andric's novel Bosnian Chronicle to problems in literary hermeneutics as they concerti issues of dialogue and Cultural translation. The author claims that the opposition between East and West, repeatedly recalled in the characters' speech and traditionally taken to be the main theme of the novel, is actually dissolved and discarded by the novel itself. Instead, its true theme is the dynamics of human communication exemplified by the characters' attempts to understand one another and in their failure to do so, which makes Bosnian Chronicle a novel about misunderstanding

Insurgent participation: consensus and contestation in planning the redevelopment of Berlin-Tempelhof airport

Despite decades of debate, participatory planning continues to be contested. More recently, research has revealed a relationship between participation and neoliberalism, in which participation works as a post-political tool—a means to depoliticize planning and legitimize neoliberal policy-making. This article argues that such accounts lack attention to the opportunities for opposing neoliberal planning that may be inherent within participatory processes. In order to further an understanding of the workings of resistance within planning, it suggests the notion of insurgent participation—a mode of contentious intervention in participatory approaches. It develops this concept through the analysis of various participatory approaches launched to regenerate the former airport Berlin-Tempelhof. A critical reading of participation in Tempelhof reveals a contradictory process. Although participatory methods worked to mobilize support for predefined agendas, their insurgent participation also allowed participants to criticize and shape the possibilities of engagement, challenge planning approaches and envision alternatives to capitalist imperatives

New Voices: What Works

Reviews grantees' accomplishments in building community news sites, keys to sustainability, and lessons learned about engagement, staffing, business models, social media, technology, partnerships, and limitations of university, youth, and radio projects